Google CEO Sundar Pichai has addressed the mounting criticism that followed the release of ChatGPT and the perception that Google was trailing behind in the artificial intelligence race. Speaking on Lex Fridman’s podcast, Pichai responded to narratives that suggested Google had lost its edge and even calls for him to resign, defending the company’s strategic approach and expressing confidence in the long-term vision he had laid out.
During a time when Google was under intense scrutiny for allegedly falling behind in AI innovation, particularly following the rapid success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, critics questioned whether the tech giant had failed to keep up with the pace of AI development. Some commentators even went so far as to call for a change in leadership. Pichai, however, dismissed these concerns, saying he had full awareness of what was being built behind the scenes at Google.
“Look, lots to unpack. The main bet I made as a CEO was to really make sure the company was approaching everything in an AI-first way… setting ourselves up to develop AGI responsibly and make sure we are putting out products which embodies things that are very, very useful for people,” said Pichai.
His response comes amid a wave of media reports and industry commentary that argued Google had been overtaken by newer players in the AI space. The launch of ChatGPT marked a turning point in the public’s perception of generative AI, and Google was criticized for not having an immediate response that matched the impact of OpenAI’s chatbot. This led to a broader discussion about whether Google had lost its “magic touch” in innovation.
However, Pichai pushed back against this narrative by emphasizing the steps he had already taken internally to realign Google’s priorities around AI. He noted that even while the public doubted Google’s position in the AI landscape, the company had already started consolidating its top AI talent and technologies.
“So look, I knew, even through moments like that last year, I had a good sense of what we were building internally. So I’d already made many important decisions, bringing together teams of the caliber of Brain, and DeepMind, and setting up Google DeepMind,” he explained.
The merging of Brain and DeepMind into Google DeepMind was a strategic move to consolidate Google’s AI research capabilities and foster faster progress. This internal restructuring, Pichai implied, was not immediately visible to outsiders and might have led to misconceptions about Google’s pace in AI development.
Pichai also addressed how he personally handled the wave of negativity during that time. When asked about the lowest points in that period, he said he remained calm and focused, relying on his ability to ignore distractions and concentrate on meaningful feedback. He likened his role to that of a football coach leading a top-tier team, where performance is under constant scrutiny.
“Anytime you’re in a situation like that, a few aspects, I’m good at tuning out noise, right, separating signal from noise,” he said. He further added, “Running Google, you may as well be coaching Barcelona or Real Madrid. You have a bad season.”
Despite the intensity of the criticism, Pichai maintained that his job required him to stay grounded and discerning, particularly when dealing with feedback. He emphasized the importance of distinguishing between noise and genuine insight, recognizing that some external voices do offer valuable perspectives.
“I’m good at tuning out the noise. I do watch out for signals. It’s important to separate the signal from the noise, so there are good people sometimes making good points outside, so you wanna listen to it, you want to take that feedback in. But, internally, you are making a set of consequential decisions,” he said.
Part of the external misinterpretation, according to Pichai, stemmed from a lack of awareness about the technical and infrastructural challenges involved in scaling AI. He pointed to the difficulties in deploying and scaling massive models like Gemini, Google’s advanced large language model, as one such example.
Pichai noted that securing sufficient computational power by ramping up Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) was an effort that took time and might not have been visible or understood outside the company. These TPUs are critical to training and running large-scale AI models, and delays in scaling them could slow product development, even if the underlying research was on track.
He elaborated that while external observers may judge by public-facing product rollouts, they may not realize the internal hurdles and foundational efforts required to bring those products to market. These include hardware, compute resources, team alignment, and integration of complex research projects into usable tools.
In the case of Gemini, for example, Pichai’s comments suggest that while critics were focusing on visible outputs, the groundwork was being laid to build something more robust and sustainable in the long term. He implied that short-term criticism did not account for the larger trajectory the company was aiming for.
Pichai’s remarks suggest a belief that the company’s AI roadmap, though not always apparent externally, has been strategically sound. He expressed confidence that the decisions taken during the criticized period would eventually yield results that affirm Google’s leadership in AI.
By acknowledging the public’s perception while also offering insight into the behind-the-scenes decision-making, Pichai appeared to be balancing transparency with assurance. He remained composed in his explanation and made it clear that leadership in such a high-stakes environment requires both resilience and long-term thinking.
As Google continues to expand its AI offerings and integrate generative models like Gemini into its products, Pichai’s defense may resonate with those who value deliberate and structured innovation over rapid, headline-grabbing releases. His comments reflect a CEO who has been through turbulent times but remains committed to a vision that, in his view, is both ambitious and responsible.
In the end, Sundar Pichai’s message was clear: Google has not lost its edge but is playing a longer, more calculated game in the AI race. The foundation for this future, he argues, was being laid quietly even as the outside world questioned the company’s direction.